Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 95273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
“I know,” she says. “It felt like I fell forever. And then I reached out with my hand and owie.”
I nod, understanding all too well what that feels like.
My shoulder twinges at the memory.
“Dr. Blackwell was great,” Abbi continues.
“I think he liked Mommy,” Daisy adds.
“Why do you think that?” I ask as Abbi bites her lip. My eyes narrow on her.
“Because he asked her if she really was with you. He smiled at her a lot. He liked her. But I told him that you’re our Brady, and he was okay with it.”
“Why do you sound so grown up?” Abbi asks her.
“Blake Blackwell hit on you?”
“Stand down, Cowboy. I only have eyes for you.” She smirks and then pulls a piece of meat out of the bowl and pops it into her mouth. “He was nice and totally fine when I assured him that I am, in fact, in a committed relationship.”
“Good.”
“So, all of this was happening, and I still had laundry piling up at the shop, and my original plan of bringing Daisy back with me while I did it was thwarted because she needed to be at home to rest, so I decided to do it all here. I called Millie and asked for her help, and she was awesome about it. But just before I was about to head out the door to collect said laundry, I got the call.”
Her gaze falls to the countertop, and the smile from a moment ago is gone.
“And it scared ten years off my life.” She clears her throat. “I had a sinking feeling in my gut all day. Like something bad was going to happen, and it was driving me nuts. After each thing, I’d think, was that the thing? But no, the feeling never left. I guess things happen in threes. Four, this time, if you count the nightmare.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
“It’s not your fault. Okay, your turn. What the heck happened out there?”
“Yeah,” Daisy echoes. “What happened?”
I push my empty plate away. “Can we sit in the living room? It’s more comfortable.”
“Oh! Of course. Do you need some ice for that shoulder?”
“That would be good.”
“I need ice, too, Mama,” Daisy says, and for the next ten minutes, Abbi gets us situated in the living room with ice packs. “Sit with me, Brady.”
Daisy snuggles up with me on the couch, and Abbi sits across from us in the rocking chair. It’s then it hits me that I’m so relieved to be home.
“Okay, tell us the story,” Abbi says.
“Well, it all started with a bull.” I grin at her, but she doesn’t smile back. “I didn’t have my rope with me. I forgot it in the truck, so I had to use someone else’s.”
“All of this because of a rope?” Abbi demands.
“We have routines. I have a rope that I prefer. I feel confident in how it feels in my hand. It’s familiar.”
“Okay, I get that.”
“I knew as soon as that chute opened that it wasn’t going to be a good ride. You always know. I was right. I made it just under five seconds before I lost my grip and was thrown off. I couldn’t roll the way I wanted, and my shoulder and head took the brunt of it. Knocked me out for a second, and the cowboys had to pull me out of the way of the bull.”
Abbi covers her face with her hands. This is why I don’t ever want her near an arena. She doesn’t need to see that.
“Still,” she says after taking a breath, “five seconds is a long time.”
“Anything less than eight seconds is failure,” I reply, sounding harsher than I mean to. “My standings are still fine for now, but I’m not happy. I have to sit out for at least three weeks.”
“Only three weeks?” she asks.
“You don’t get it. I’m not even allowed to practice for those three weeks while I heal. I’ll be rusty, and my body won’t know what to do. This isn’t good.”
“Muscle memory is a thing,” she reminds me.
Daisy’s snoring against me, and I grin at Abbi. “We bored her.”
“She’s tired. She was uncomfortable all night with that brace on.”
I frown and kiss Daisy’s head. “In the future, if either of you gets hurt while I’m gone, I want to know immediately.”
“Brady—”
“No argument. You two are my world, and if something’s wrong, I need to know. Not after I ride and not the next day. Understand?”
She lets out a gusty breath but reluctantly nods. “Yeah.”
“And if you have a bad feeling, just talk to me, baby.”
“I already felt like I was too needy yesterday, texting you all day.”
“You’re never too much. I want to know what’s going on in that gorgeous head of yours. I’m always available to you, no matter where I am or what I’m doing.”
She smiles softly. “Thank you.”